Love Will Save You
by flower-in-her-hair
Summary: As a firefighter Kristoff Bjorgman was used to saving lives. Until his path crossed with Anna Andersen he didn't know that he needed some saving too. Rated M for later smut.
1. Chapter 1

Kristoff loved whenever he got the chance to visit his dad and grandpa at work. The sights, the sounds and the heroic stories around the fire hall always piqued his interest. Of course the stories were censored to be appropriate for an eight year old, he had only been told of the triumphs and not any of the gory and heartbreaking details. His grandfather, Paul, was the current fire chief; his father, Cliff, would very likely be next for the position. Kristoff was determined to continue the legacy.

Kristoff had stopped by with his mom, Bulda, to drop off some dinner for them.

"Dad, did you have any adventures today?" Kristoff stared up with wide eyes.

"None yet son" Almost as soon as Cliff had finished talking the alarm went off.

_"Unit 53 firefighters, we've got an ice water rescue of a child at Northuldra Lake" _

Bulda grabbed Kristoff and pulled him to the side out of the way of everyone rushing around.

"Ice" Kristoff whispered to himself. Ice rescue stories were his favourite to hear.

—

"He's home, he's home" Kristoff flung off his blankets and ran down the stairs to greet his father at the door.

"Kristoff, buddy, what are you doing still up?" Cliff wrapped his arms around Kristoff tightly.

"I stayed up to see you. I wanted to hear the story of the ice rescue! Is the kid okay?"

"Ya buddy, she's going to be okay, Anna is going to be okay."


	2. Chapter 2

~20 years later~

Anna couldn't tell if she was elated, gassy or extremely nervous. The idea of a very fancy party, almost like a ball, to celebrate her engagement to Hans made her want to squeal out with joy. The idea of spending an evening surrounded by Hans' family and all their friends terrified her. It wasn't just the contrast between Anna being overly affectionate and them being very closed off; it just sometimes seemed like they found every little thing to criticize. They'd often hide it behind saying they cared about you so they just had to bring up how they thought your outfit was horrible so you could change and prevent people from laughing at you, or that you should talk more or less to give off a better impression. She often walked away from dinners with them with a headache, questioning if she was crazy and was the only one who notice their snide remarks.

"You look ravishing tonight my lady" Hans whispered huskily in her ear. "Maybe we should just skip the party and have a little party of our own" Hans began trailing kisses down her neck and on her shoulders.

Anna really did feel beautiful, more beautiful than she'd ever felt. Her red hair was tied back in a french twist, showing off the lacy keyhole detail at the back of her long emerald green evening gown. She'd just needed to get through the whole night feeling this beautiful by forgetting and letting slide off all the little comments thrown at her like how so was so lucky that her boobs were so tiny that she could get away with not wearing a bra.

"Hans, we can't miss our own party, besides we can always celebrate later. We really don't struggle to find a time and place for celebrating" she giggled, "You do look very handsome. We should find more opportunities for you to wear a tuxedo because I love you in one." Anna leaned in to give hans a kiss when they heard an eruption of cheering from the ballroom.

"That, my lady, is our cue" Hans turned away from her puckered lips and laced his arm through her's. The doors opened and they met a crowd of people all cheering and taking photos as they entered. She felt like she was on a red carpet and she lifted her free hand to wiggle her fingers in a wave.

"Olaf!" Anna spotted her friend in the crowd and raced over to him, all while people were then staring at the abandoned Hans. "I'm so glad you could come. It's so nice to have a friendly face in the crowd" she hugged him tightly. "Kai! Gerda! You made it too!" Anna spotted them behind Olaf. Those three people were her her whole guest list. Her best friend and her former nannies. If only things were better between her and her sister. Anna had not spoken with Elsa in years. Elsa had moved up north to expand their parents' ski resort business that she had been passed down when their parents passed away.

"It's hard to believe our little Anna has grown and is now engaged" Gerda smiled up at Anna proudly.

"Anna my darling, you can't just run off like that. We need to be together for the celebration so everyone can congratulate us properly together" Hans grabbed her arm and pulled her away.

There really wasn't too much congratulating of her. People said hello to her and then she couldn't seem to get much of a word out after that. She'd start talking about what she wanted for the wedding and Hans' mother would jump in and say that having an outdoor ceremony was a horrible idea with having to deal with the weather and dirt and heels sinking into the grass; or Hans would jump in and say that having an ice cream bar wasn't fancy enough or something like that. Anna was going to keep her head up, she wouldn't let this ruin her nice. Anna told herself that they were just so excited for the wedding and wanted to have input. She could reel in their opinions later, right?

Later in the night Anna slipped off to go to the washroom and when she returned she saw Hans talking with his parents and a few of his brothers. As she walked closer she could hear their whispers and her mouth hung wide.

"I'm just saying, you need to get on making her sign the prenup" Hans' father said.

"She could give me one too you know" Hans replied.

"Oh please, don't make me laugh. She's much too stupid to think of that, even with you making her sign one" his mother said.

"If only she talked as little as she seemed to think. She must be great in bed" Hans' eldest brother rolled his eyes.

"Excuse me!" Anna shouted, "Hans, how can you let them talk about me like that?"

"Anna, please don't make a scene here" Hans sighed.

"Fine, I'll leave then" Anna pulled off her heels and sprinted out of the room. She didn't know where she would go, she just slipped into her car and started off driving as tears streamed down her face. The rain was pouring down to the point of almost zero visibility. She saw lights heading towards her in her lane. She jerked the wheel to swerve and everything went black.

The next thing she knew she was laying on a backboard on the ground, the sound of a soft soothing voice was above her coming from a man with kind, soft brown eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

As Kristoff and his family had anticipated he had graduated from fire college at the top of his class and was now following in his grandfather and father's footsteps. Paul had since retired from being chief and had passed the position on to his son. There was an assumption that Kristoff was next in line. He had the skills for it, well, all except for the people skills. Kristoff was not near as personable as his father and grandfather. The heroic, successes felt great, but the negative aspects of the job had got to him a little more and had hardened him. Some people just sucked. Some people committed arson to try and get insurance money. Some people called and tied up their resources for non-emergencies. Some people caused horrific accidents because they were driving distracted or impaired. Some people screamed at him that he was robbing them blind when he was trying to do a boot drive for charity. Some people couldn't be rescued.

Kristoff was on the same shift rotation as his best friend Sven. They'd met in kindergarten and had since then followed each other through to being college roommates and now to working together. They were like brothers.

"So, you never told me how your date with Tanya went" Sven said.

"That's because it didn't go much of anywhere. Nothing worth telling" Kristoff shrugged.

"Again? Every time it's the same story with you. It's not going anywhere, she's just alright, blah blah blah"

"Maybe that's because it was your bright idea to sign me up for Tinder, not mine" Kristoff rolled his eyes.

"That's because you've been insufferable since you and Katherine broke up, like more than usual. What if I set you up with..."

_"__Paging unit 53 firefighters. Motor vehicle accident near 521 Smith Boulevard" _

"To be continued" Sven calked as her tan to put on his gear.

They were the first on the scene, as they usually were when calls came in. A black Bentley was crunched in the middle of the road. Another vehicle clearly had been involved but had already fled the scene.

"single occupant,female, unresponsive, but breathing. We'll need the jaws of life" Sven called out.

She had to be cut out of the vehicle and laid down on a backboard in case there was any spinal injury. A large cut was visible on her forehead that Kristoff began working on trying to clot.

"Aaah" she let out a little cry as he applied pressure. Her blue eyes were suddenly wide with fright. Her breathing was starting to rapidly increase.

"Try to stay calm. You've been in an accident. You're going to be okay though" Kristoff replied in a soothing voice.

"Accident? Hans.. he'll be so mad" she whispered and tried to sit up, "owww owww" she clutched her chest.

"Please, just lay down for now. Let's just worry about you for now, not Hans. Can you tell me your name?"

"A...Anna" she squeezed out.

"My name's Kristoff. We're going to look after you, okay? The paramedics are on their way. Just relax"


	4. Chapter 4

Her chest hurt, her head hurt, but most of all her heart hurt. Her phone had received multiple calls and texts from Olaf wondering where she had gotten off to and asking if she was okay, but there was nothing from Hans. She'd wanted there to be some kind of misunderstanding that she'd had at the party and he'd come chasing after her. She'd even tried calling him and couldn't get a hold of him. She was left riding in the ambulance alone to the hospital to be checked out.

Olaf met her at the hospital and began apologizing profusely for not getting there sooner as soon as he saw her. On account of the two broken ribs Anna couldn't get one of Olaf's signature warm hugs. At least Anna was being discharged from the hospital. She just felt like she couldn't go home.

"My head is just all over the place, and not just because of the concussion. Can I stay with you tonight? I think Hans and I need some space for at least tonight. I'm sorry to inconvenience you even more then I already have" Anna sighed as she slid into the passenger seat of Olaf's car.

"Nonsense Anna. You're always welcome for a sleepover at my place."

"What did Hans do after I left? Did he seem sad? Did he run out to look for me? I just keep hoping I missed something and there was a misunderstanding"

Olaf looked over at her in silence, with dad eyes, answering her question for her, "I'm sorry Anna" he whispered.

By the time that they got to Anna's condo to pick up some clothes she prayed that he wouldn't be home so she could put seeing him and confronting him again off. She told Olaf to stay put and that she wouldn't be long. She took the stairs to delay opening the front door a little longer.

3...2...1 she put her key in the lock and pushed the door open. She saw light. Crap. He had to be home. Maybe she could sneak to the bedroom unnoticed.

"So, you've decided to come crawling back" the sound of Hans' voice made her jump in surprise. There was a slight slur in his speech and Anna could smell alcohol.

"Hans, I could have died. I'm your fiancée Why are you being like this?"

"Gee Anna, I have no idea. You only made a scene in front of all my friends and family and embarrassed me. Then you go off and crash and ruin my car, my very expensive car"

"You should be embarrassed about what you did and it's not like I purposefully crashed the car. It was a car accident. Emphasis on the accident part. And wait...it's my car. You gave it to me as a gift. The important part isn't even who's car it is or the state of the car or anything" Anna balled up her fists and yelled, "Look, my head hurts. I'm confused. I'm upset. I just came to get some stuff for the night"

"Take it all. I did you the favour of gathering it all already for you. You see Anna, I've beat you to the punch. There's no way i'd let myself get dumped by you. I'm the one breaking up with you " Hans smirked

All of Anna's clothes and belongings were there piled in a heap on the bedroom floor. Anna pushed past him and started shoving all of her stuff into a garbage bag that was laying by the pile. She didn't want Hans to see her cry, no, she wouldn't let him see her sad. She had to just show him her anger.

"Now what makes you think that you get to be the one to kick me out? It's my apartment too"

"The lease that is in my name says that it is only my apartment and that I merely allowed you to stay here."

"Fine, keep the apartment, but at least I can say I kept my dignity" Anna swung the large bag over her shoulder and stormed out. As soon as she left his sight her tears started to run.


	5. Chapter 5

Kristoff hated hated the annual firefighter auction. Every year they would auction off a select few of the firefighters in their station for one day of doing the buyer's bidding to raise charity donations. The thought behind it was for them to do odd jobs like paint someone's fence or put together their Ikea furniture, but some purchasers had different ideas. Last year Kristoff had been 'bought' by a girl who just wanted him to parade around with her and pretend to be her boyfriend for a day. Other guys, like Sven, loved it, but Kristoff found it degrading. Getting all the attention also was not his cup of tea.

"It's for a good cause, don't be so grumpy" his mom would always say.

Anna had really wanted to do something to thank all the first responders who had helped her with her accident. Most of the time Anna would just bake a little something to say thanks to someone, people went wild for her baking. This needed a little more than just a pretty frosted cake. The charity auction was the perfect opportunity to give back, she also did need a little favour too. A lot had happened the night of her accident and a lot was a blur to her, but she did remember someone named Christopher...or was it Kristoff? Christopher or Kristoff with the soft brown eyes. if she had a choice she wanted to buy him to give a personal thanks. The problem was that she only knew his eyes, voice and sort of what his name was. She was looking around to see if there was someone in charge that she could ask for some clarity on who her somewhat mystery guy could be when she heard a soothing familiar voice say, "Kristoff Bjorgman." That was him, standing there introducing himself. She couldn't really see him, she was short and there were quite a few people crowded around.

Kristoff was standing there in front of the crowd wishing that the world would cave in right that moment. The bidding went modestly until a hand shot up amid the sea of people and a voice called out enthusiastically "$1,500". He hadn't seen who it was, he could just tell from the dainty hand and high voice that it was a female.

Kristoff's wishes to not get a lot of attention really went unnoticed with such a high bid. His parents were congratulating him. His coworkers were teasing him about the girl having to be crazy. Sven was ranting about how Kristoff was 'sold' for so much more money than he was.

"Hello, excuse me. You're Kristoff, right?" Kristoff felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around and he locked eyes with the tiny ginger girl. There was something familiar about her, he just couldn't place who she was. He started to blush in embarrassment at being approached by her in front of the other guys.

As soon as he turned around and looked at her Anna knew that she'd tapped the right person. He was so tall and strong looking. The fire gear that he had been wearing the last time she saw him really hadn't added as much padding as she'd thought.

"Hi...again. I'm Anna. I'm your lucky bidder" she gave a little wave. Oh god, had she been staring?

That's when he realized where he'd seen her before. It wasn't just that he was in a much better condition this time then when he'd seen her last; it was that he hadn't thought that the girl he'd seen decked out in a designer ballgown could be the same girl standing before him with pigtail braids wearing short overalls.

"Do you remember me?" she asked to break the silence, he realized he must have been staring, "Oh that's silly of me to ask, you probably rescue tons of women everyday so I wouldn't stick out."

"No, no, I remember you. You look good, considering what you went through. Recovering nicely I see" he nodded.

"Ya, it was just a concussion and some broken ribs. I mean that's nothing to sneeze at, speaking of which, sneezing with broken ribs is by far the most painful thing ever" Anna winced.

"So... what do you want?" Kristoff asked.

"Huh?"

"You know, you "bought me" so now you get me for a day to do your bidding or whatever"

"Oh ya, right. I need you to help me move"

"That's what you want? You do realize that you could hire a whole team of professional movers for cheaper?"

"I know, but I wanted to do something to thank you guys for helping me out. I wanted to thank you specifically because I remember you." Anna looked up at him coyly.

"Oh, well you're welcome, I still have to work for it though" Kristoff shrugged.

"Ya, I thought of just buying you and giving you the day off, but I really do need someone to help me move" Anna starts rummaging through her purse and pulls out a business card, "Here, my cell number is on there and I wrote my new address on the back. I'll see you at 9 AM tomorrow. SHARP!" she pointed her finger at him to try and seem strict, "Oh and thank you again, for everything from rescuing me to being a good sport about this. Don't eat breakfast, it's on me tomorrow" she grinned.

Maybe this wouldn't be so bad for him. She seemed nice and it would be easy enough to move a few boxes for her. Kristoff was looking over the business card she'd handed him. It was for a bakery called "Sprinkles" that apparently she was the owner of.

"She doesn't seem crazy" he muttered to himself.


	6. Chapter 6

Helping a girl move should be easy. It was literally the assignment that he was asking for and yet just pulling up to Anna's place already made him feel like he was in over his head. Her home was a brand new luxury townhouse. It was like he was comitting some sort of crime to step out onto her spotless driveway with his workboots that were caked with mud.

"I'm coming, I'm coming hold your horses" Anna shouted as she sock slid down the hall when Kristoff ran the doorbell.

"Hi Anna." Kristoff smiled slightly.

"Ahh, Kristoff. Right on time. Welcome to Chez Anna. I will give you the grand tour later. For now though, please excuse all the...stuff and such scattered around. First order of business is breakfast."

Kristoff couldn't help but notice the tiny jean shorts that Anna was wearing as she turned around and led him to her kitchen. They barely covered her ass; her round, perfect, perky ass. Shit, it had been way too long since he'd had sex. He hadn't even noticed Anna asking him if he wanted a donut for breakfast.

"Hey Kristoff, you there? I asked if you wanted a donut. I made them myself at my shop" she held out a plate of sugary glazed donuts.

"Nah, I'm good" Kristoff shook his head as he emerged from his trance.

"Oh come one, please? Just one. In fact, as your boss for today I order you to eat one" she smirked.

"Fine, which one is the best?" he sighed

"Double chocolate chip is my personal favourite. The pink strawberry cheesecake donut is our best seller though"

Kristoff picked up the double chocolate donut.

"Greeat choice. Now, how does it taste, good right? Be honest, but remember I'm your boss" she chuckled, "Just kidding, please be honest"

"No, it's good , can see why it's your favourite. Good job" he replied with a mouthful of donut.

"Yay!" she bounced and clapped her hands, "Now eat up. You need strength because we've got a lot to do. Do you need coffee or something? I can dig out my kettle and I have instant coffee somewhere in my things."

"Ya, and double chocolate donuts are the breakfast of champions" he said sarcastically, "I'm fine, lets just get this over with."

"Fine, next stop, my bedroom" she winked and then burst out laughing, "I'm just messing with you. You have to help me put my bed together, silly".

Kristoff hoped that she wasn't able to see the blush that emerged on his cheeks at her little joke. She was an atractive girl though, any guy would get a bit hot and bothered over that little advance, right? He still was having trouble reading her though. Her place was fancy and pristine; she was currently going on about how much she loved her rooftop terrace with it's hot tub and infinity pool; but all her brand new furniture was waiting in Ikea boxes to be put together. Why did he care about reading her though? Why did he care if she was rich, stuck up and born with a silver spoon in her mouth or not? He may not understand her yet, but he really didn't seem to be understanding himself right now.

"Now, lets get started, step one shows the little cartoon guy hammering the sides of the sides of the drawers together and screwing the tracks on" Anna started to gather the corresponding peices from the box.

"What? no, that's rediculous. We're starting with the frame, the base in particular. Just...just let me do it" he grumbled, "You just had to choose Ikea"

"No, I'm the boss and WE are following the instructions. The instructions are there for a reason. I'm going to help. Don't think that beacuse I'm a girl I can't build things. I'll have you know I am great at hammering nails" Anna crossed her arms over her chest, "And Kristoff Bjorgman, you'd think that you'd support the furniture of your people. Your name doesn't hide the fact that you're clearly Scandinavian of some sort."

"My name is Norweigan. That doesn't mean that I am." He frankly didn't know what his actual nationality was. His adopted family, who had named him, however were very Norweigan. His adoption and genetics and heritage were none of her business though.

"Okay, well my name is Norweigan too, and I'm also Norweigan. I've never travelled to Norway though. My parents were born there. I'd love to visit sometime."

At that there was silence between them except for the hammering of nails. Kristoff realized that maybe he was a little curt and might have scared her off a bit. He figured he'd make a bit more of an effort4 to make conversation. There was also something that he was very curious about.

"So, where were you headed from all dressed up that night?" he asked without missing her gaze.

"I wasn't going anywhere in particular. I was coming from an engagement party though, my engagement party" Anna averted her gaze from Kristoff as she fiddled with the hammer in her hands.

"Oh,Congratulations. I mean, what happened was an awful way to end the celebration, but congratulations still" Kristoff shrugged.

"Thank you, but there's no congratulations in order. We broke up. That's why I had to move" Anna sighed, "Apparently he just wanted me for my money. Apparently he never loved me. Everything was a big show. He was controlling and I was just blinded. His family never liked me and were rude to me and I tried to stand up to myself at the party and then he got mad that I had the nerve to cause a rukus. He wanted to make me into a meek and mild housewife who pops out about 20 kids and does whatever he says. I left the party because I was so upset and I was just driving and then...well you know what happens next" Anna's voice was starting to get louder, her hands balling into fists, "He never came to the accident scene. He never came to the hospital. I came to our apartment to get things to stay the night at a friend's and he just went off on my about how I ruined an expensive card and embarrassed him. He didn't care at all about the fact that I was hurt or scared. he broke up with me. He just had to have the last word and the glory. The nerve of him!" Anna smacked the hammer down hard on an already hammered in nail.

"Whoa there Feisty Pants, Let me just take that before you hurt one off us" Kristoff grabbed the hammer from her. Upon hearing her story he felt his own blood boil as Anna was getting angrier. He was convinced that it was just about this guy's crass treatment of another person, not that it was directed at Anna in particular.

"Sorry, I'm just so mad. He seemed perfect and then turned out to be just...err..."

"A jackass? a douche bag? an asshole? a dick? a peice of shit?" Kristoff listed casually.

"Normally I don't like such things being said about anyone, but yes, he was all of those things" she smiled slightly, "I just need to look on the bright side. I'm going to have this whole king sized bed to myself to spread out in now."

"There you go. You're better off already"

After the bed was put together then came putting together the night stands and dressers. Kristoff had successfuly convinced Anna to set up her sheets and blankets on the bed and fill drawers with clothes and belongings while he worked. That hadn't stopped Anna however from catching him deviating from the instructions and scolding him, to which Kristoff would roll his eyes.

"Alright, I think we're done here" Kristoff wiped the sweat from his brow with his hand, "Good thing too. It's getting hot in here." Kristoff stripped off the flannel long sleeve shirt that was ontop of his tee shirt and threw it on the floor.

He was right. It was getting hot in there in more ways than one. Anna stood with her mouth slightly agape as she watched im unbuttoning his shirt and she saw him there just in a thin white tee that clung to his arm muscles and chest with a bit of sweat. She would have admitted he was attractive before, but now he was hot. She started to think of testing out the bed construction with him right now. She needed to stop that, she was just desperate and lonely and wanted to be able that the last person she'd had sex with was anyone but Hans, right?

"L...lets get some lunch and something to drink. I'm thirsty" Anna tried to say as confidently as she could. Damn she was thirsty. She scurried back down to the kitchen and began searching the cupboards that she had filled so far for some glasses. One of the woes in her life was being short. The world wasn't built for all 5 feet and one inch of her. She started to climb on the counter to look in the higher cupboards when she heard Kristoff behind her.

"What are you doing?"

"Getting us some glasses for water" she tried to stand up on her counter as her legs shook a bit.

"You're going to kill yourself"

"Nope I've got it" she grabbed two cups from the cupboard and turned around to grin triumphantly at Kristoff when she lost her balance and let out a shriek. Then she was suddenly in his arms. He had caught her. "Thank you, wow. That was like a crazy trust excercise" she giggled as he set her back down on her feet. Great, the last thing she had needed was to become more focused on his muscles by being caught held by them. She filled her cup with tap water and drank it down fast.

"So, I'm thinking we order pizza. Pepperoni with extra cheese is my favourite, is that good with you?" she asked.

"You're the boss, remember?" he shrugged.

"That's right. You're such a good employee. That reminds me. I have some post hiring questions for you. First one, what made you want to be a firefighter and how many cats have you rescued from trees?"

"You hired me to help you move, not play 20 questions"" he groaned.

Okay so maybe he was hot, but he was definately difficult. "It's just a basic question. I could have gone with 'what's your deepest darkest secret?' or 'have you ever been in love?' or 'what's the worst thing you've ever done?' or like all the sexual ones. Just answer my question Bjorgman."

"Ugh, fine. I was kind of raised into it. My grandpa was a fire chief and my dad is now and then I've just followed into the sort of family business. I just always wanted to do it since I was little. About the cats, it's a bit overhyped by the media. A cat in a tree isn't an emergency. We get calls, but it doesn't happen too often"

"That's so sweet that you work with your dad" she replied, "I love my bakery, but I wish I'd gotten a real chance to work with my family. My parents owned a chain of luxury ski resorts accross the globe, they passed the business on to my older sister when they passed away. I own a minority share and so I get profits and stuff but I have no clout." After saying it all she realized how much she had really just told him. She'd let him in on that sensitive piece of herself that really hurt over how her parents over looked her for the business. Even though she ulimately would have chosen her bakery over the resorts she just wished that she'd had the option. She wished they had believed in her. Maybe, like with Hans, she was too quick to trust and open up to Kristoff, but he seemed safe to her.

"Umm anyway, this is about you not me. Sorry for my little addition. Next question, how often do you work out?" as the words left her mouth she realized that maybe he could infer that she'd been checking him out from the question"...you know because firefighting is a very physical job."

"I try to work out at least five days a week, alternating between cardio and weights"

"Sorry if I'm making you miss leg day with your whey protein bro" she laughed.

"You're making me miss cardio day actually." he replied. At those words the doorbell rang. The delivery man had arrived just in time to interrupt her thoughts of how she could help him still get his cardio that day.

She'd stuffed her face with three pieces of pizza, both because she was hungry and loved pizza and because if her mouth was full she wouldn't say something awkward. Kristoff was quiet, too quiet for her liking as they ate. As they moved to buiding the table and chairs things got a little less awkward. They joked about how it would have been easier to eat if they had of built the table and chairs before lunch. Kristoff teased that it was her fault for being the boss and she argued that he, being the more experienced one in manly things like furniture building should have spoken up.

They then moved to hanging shelves and photos and decorating. Anna realized Kristoff had no decorating sense.

"Kristoff, you just threw the pillows on the couch in a clump instead of setting them up nicely" she groaned.

"They're called throw pillows though aren't they" he laughed.

"Don't you get smart with me" she pointed a finger at him. He was a challenge, but she was oddly enjoying it as she tried to comback at his quips. He kept her on her toes. Once everything had found it's place Anna was frantically looking around for another task. She'd had fun and really enjoyed the company, but everything was done.

"I guess that's it. You're a good employee Kristoff Bjorgman. I'll write you a reference letter" Anna extended her hand for a shake.

"Pleasure doing business with you Anna" he shook her hand. God, his hand was so tiny in his. His hand just swallowed her's.

"Thank you!" she called as he turned to leave.

The day had been a workout and now she was tired. It was nap time. As she curled up in her new bed she saw Kristoff's shirt still laying in a pile on her floor. She got up and picked it up. It had a mixed scent of musk and sweat to it that was comforting. No cologne, just his natural scent. Before she knew it she slipped on the shirt and curled into bed. She was lonely after all and now it seemed like maybe someone was there with her, she'd tell herself it wasn't that she specifically wanted Kristoff there.


	7. Chapter 7

Anna was assuming and hoping that at any moment Kristoff would realize that he had forgotten his shirt and would come back to retrieve it. She had it all washed and folded nicely sitting on the chair in her living room, but there was no knock at the door. She hoped that he had just forgotten about the shirt or hadn't come because he was busy, but she had a sinking feeling that he hadn't come back because he just didn't want to see her. She wondered If he just found her annoying, he wouldn't be the first person to. She was too talkative, she was too awkward, she'd been too bossy, she'd pushed him away.

After going back and forth in her mind about what to do she finally decided that she had to at least try to return the shirt to him. She knew where he worked after all. so, after work the next day she drove her new green VW bug, which she adored, to the firehouse to see if she could track down Kristoff.

"Okay, flour check" Anna lowered her sun visor to check her hair and face for any left over baking ingredients. Usually she didn't care too much if she had a bit of flour dust in her hair or something, but today she did.

"All good!" she smiled to herself and stepped out of her car. She could see someone in the garage, but she could tell that it wasn't Kristoff. She stood right by the edge of the garage feeling somewhat worried if it was a big no no for her to step inside.

"Excuse me" Anna called out.

"Oh, hi. I didn't see you there. Is there something I can help you with?" Anna was greeted by a tall man with shoulder length brown hair.

"Hi, I'm looking for Kristoff...Kristoff Bjorgman, I don't know how many Kristoff's you have here"

"Oh ya, you're that bought him at the auction"

"Right, ya. I'm Anna"

"Nice to meet you Anna, I'm Sven. Kristoff is here, he's just inside. Follow me"

She felt her heart beat faster with every step they took. Then she saw him sitting down on one of the beds doing bicep curls and her breath caught in her throat. She felt her face warming. Oh man she could tell she was blushing bad.

"Hey man, you've got a visitor. Anna's here to see you" Sven said with a sly grin.

Kristoff looked up and their eyes locked. For a moment she forgot why she was even here.

"Yup, what do you want?" Kristoff for up and walked toward her.

"Hi, You forgot your shirt at my place the other day. I'm just returning it. So, here" she handed him over the bundle of cloth in her arms, "I washed it for you, so if it smells different that's why." Anna quickly added the last part. She'd hate for him to figure out that she actually wore his shirt and make him think she was some lonely creep.

"Oh, thanks. I didn't realize" Kristoff replied.

Good, so he hadn't been purposefully avoiding her. She realized though that she'd fulfilled her task. She had nothing else to say and no excuse to see him again short from trying to burn her house down.

"I'm having a house warming party Saturday night" she blurted out, "you're invited since you helped so much with the house. It starts at 7."

Kristoff was silent in response. Anna felt like she was going to sweat through her shirt.

"Umm anyway, I hope to see you there. You know where I live. Oh and you can bring someone too if you want" she turned and speed walked to the entrance. That didn't go horrible, but it sure as hell could have gone better. Why was she always so awkward? She really hoped Kristoff would show, and without the plus one that she extended just to be polite. Now, she had to get home because now she had a sudden party to plan.

Sven didn't need to say a word for Kristoff to know exactly what he was thinking, the smirk on his face said it all.

"Don't give me that look. Get your mind out of the gutter. I didn't sleep with her. I just took off my shirt that I was wearing ontop of another shirt and I left it there. That's it. Nothing happened between us" Kristoff scoffed.

"Lucky for you you've got another chance at her party"

"I'm not going Sven"

"Like hell you aren't. When a pretty girl invites you to a party, you go I know for a fact that you don't have anything better to do."

"If you think she's so pretty then you just go after her." Kristoff regretted those words as soon as he said them. He definately didn't want Sven bringing her around all the time and reminding him of her. Kristoff just wanted to forget Anna. That's what was safest.

"I'm not the one that she wants. Remember, she blew the bank on getting to spend time with you when any one of us could have moved her. Then she came here all blushing and flustered to see yu and she invited you to her party and even added a guilt trip that she really wanted you there. I know the ways of women, and I know that she's into you."

Kristoff had had no inkling that Anna had seen him as anything more than just a convenient way to get a service that she needed. She'd even seemed somewhat annoyed by him at times throughout the day. He was certainly not skilled in the ways of reading people, especially women.

"Okay, fine, I'll go. I'm making no promises about anything else happening aside from me just showing up though"

"That's a start and since you were given a plus one I will come too as your wingman...and because she may have some hot friends there."

—

"Not bad for a spontaneous party if I do say so myself" Anna looked around at the spread of snacks and drinks that she had arranged around her house. Even on the short notice she'd gotten Olaf, Kai, Gerda, and a few people from work to commit to coming. She hasn't heard anything from Kristoff, but she was trying to stay optimistic as at least that meant it wasn't a definite no.

Anna had chosen a light pink, knee length sundress to wear. She kept her hair mostly down and made a braid on her crown. Some mascara, light eyeshadow and pink lipstick finished off her look. It was the perfect balance to her of looking nice, but not looking like she was trying too hard.

Olaf was the first to arrive, as Anna expected. That was her signal to be able to open the wine without shame to start calming her nerves. As new guests arrived she gave them the grand tour to many oohs and awes. The time ticked by and it was almost 8 o'clock with no sign of Kristoff. Anna was starting to loose hope and was refilling her wine glass when a knock came to her door. Standing on the other side, holding a plant was Kristoff.

"You made it!" Anna said excitedly.

"Ya, sorry for being late. We got a fire call and then by the time we got back and did the shift switch and all that...ya we were running behind. Here, this is for you, a little house warming present. It's a fern or something like that" he held the plant out to her.

"I suppose I forgive you for being tardy if you were saving lives" she smirked, "you didn't need to bring a gift though. Thank you" Anna took the plant but quickly placed it on the table beside the door so she could wrap Kristoff in a hug. Before she could put more thought into it her head was against his chest and her arms were wrapped around his waist. His chest was firm and his musky scent filled her nose. It took a second, but his arms wrapped around her shoulders to hug her back. Anna was in her own little word until she heard someone clear their throat and she quickly separated from Kristoff. She hadn't noticed until now that someone was standing behind Kristoff.

"Sorry to interrupt and to intrude. I hope you don't mind that I tagged along." Sven stepped forward to greet Anna.

"Of course it's fine. The more the merrier" Anna gave Sven a quick hug, "Come in, Come in. I'll show you guys around. Well, Kristoff has seen the place but he can have another tour and pretend to be surprised."

"Would you like something to drink? I've got red and white wine, beer, pop, juice, milk...oooh or I could make margaritas"

"beer is fine" Kristoff shrugged.

"I'll have one too, thank you" Sven emphasized the 'thank you.'

"Okay, but I warn you. I know nothing about beer, so if it tastes bad please don't blame me. I literally just bought what the person at the store reccomends. I mean once you drink enough though everything is good, right?" Anna giggled as she handed them over their drinks, "I can give you guys a tour. Kristoff already knows his way around, but he can pretend to be surpised and in awe."

Before Anna could go any further in trying to give her tour Olaf sauntered over, "Ooh Anna, who are these friends? I haven't met them before "

"Well, this is Kristoff. He's the guy who helped me move in. Remember I told you about him?" a blush crept onto Anna's face as she realized that she'd confessed to talking about Kristoff to Olaf, "...briefly, Remember how I just casually mentioned his name?" _Real smooth Anna. _

"Oh ya, Kristoff. I'm so glad you came. Anna was really hoping that you'd be here. Oh, and she told me that you rescued her. Thank you, thank you for that. And Anna's right, you are cute." Olaf wrapped his arms around Kristoff.

"Oooh and Olaf, don't forget Sven. He works with Kristoff." Anna rambled. Hopefully Kristoff didn't hear or he'd just conveniently forget what Olaf had said.

"Sven! Nice to meet you too" Olaf hugged Sven tightly.

To Anna's relief, after the hiccup in the introductions with Olaf, the rest of the evening was progressing smoothly. She probably asked Kristoff a hundred times if he was having a good time, but he said he was so all was good. Olaf and Sven seemed to hit it off too. As she downed another glass of wine she realized that he had no idea why she had been so nervous earlier. She also had no idea why Kristoff ended up being the last person left at her party.

—

At most parties Kristoff was the first to leave. He wasn't lying though when he told Anna that he was enjoying himself the many times that she asked. Yes, the liquid courage also helped too. Along with Sven and Olaf he was among the last people there. After some whispered words that were exchanged between Sven and Olaf they both said that they were heading home.

"You've got this bro. It's just you and her now, make a move. You're welcome" Sven whispered to Kristoff as headed out.

"You can go too" Anna shrugged, "Don't feel like you have to stay any longer."

"No, it's fine. Just...let me help clean up" he rushed to pick up some bare snack trays that were scattered around. Hee wasn't planning on making a move on her as Sven suggested, but he didn't want to leave her yet. He loved the way her hair cascaded over her freckled shoulders, how tiny her waist looked in her dress, how beautiful her bare legs were, and of course the little bit of cleavage that peeked out from her sweetheart neckline.

"Oh, unless you want me to leave, then just tell me to get lost" he'd been staring at her, he knew it, and now he felt sure that she knew it and that she'd be creeped out.

"No, no, no, I don't want you to leave. You're a guest though so you don't need to clean. Just...relax" Anna grabbed the dishes from him.

"It will take a couple minutes. Just let me help. Then we can both relax" Kristoff retorted.

"Fine, you're such a difficult guest though" Anna rolled her eyes and then burst out laughing, "I'm kidding. You've been a great guest. Everyone seemed to like you. You even brought a guest. I mean I thought for sure you'd bring a date date, like a girlfriend. Oooh and I saw you eating up my baked goods like the good little guest you are"

"Well, I'd have to have a girlfriend to bring a girlfriend" Kristoff mumbled

Anna grabbed a handful of bubbles from the sink and blew them at Kristoff and then burst out laughing.

"You're weird" Kristoff rolled his eyes.

"Nuh uh, I'm just not a curmudgeon like you" Anna stuck out her tongue.

"You call me a curmudgeon but I know the truth now. You think I'm cute" Kristoff smirked at her. He hadn't been planning to call her on that fact. His lips were loosened by the alcohol and he had a slip.

Crap, he had heard her say that earlier. She had also heard him just say that he was single. Anna felt her face heating up and she took another sip of wine.

"I mean Olaf started it, he asked if you were cute. I mean, you are attractive, I'm sure you've been told that a lot. Olaf agreed! Are you going to grill him about this too or do you just like picking on me?" Anna pointed a finger at him.

"Cool it Feisty Pants. I'm teasing"

She loved that nickname. It made her feel like there were butterfiles beating their wings rapidly in her stomach. Anna picked up another handful of soap bubbles and threw it at Kristoff. "That's for teasing me while I'm drunk, which isn't nice"

"What? You're drunk? I hadn't noticed" Kristoff laughed and threw bubbles back at her.

"Shut up, so are you" Anna laughed and threw more bubbles. They engaged in a full water battle splashing water at one another until Anna slipped on the tile, grabbing Kristoff to try and steady herself they both fell backwards onto the floor. She could hear his head hit off the floor.

"Oh my god, are you okay?" Anna asked frantically.

"I'm fine, I've got a thick scull" Kristoff smiled slightly as he looked up at her.

Anna became concious of the fact that she was laying ontop of Kristoff. She could feel the rise and fall of his chest as he was breathing. She swore she could feel his heart beating, her's was pounding. Then he looked up at her with those soft, sweet eyes that she loved. His smile framed by those lips made her butterflies return. Then without thinking anymore she closed her eyes and pressed her lips to his. She felt like she was in a trance as she took in his soft lips, but she suddenly realized what she was doing. She started to slowly pull away in embarrassment when she felt Kristoff's hand on the back of her head lightly pushing her towards him again as he returned the kiss. This felt amazing, she felt amazing. She ran her hands through his hair and his hands travelled down to her bare shoulders. She let out a shutter against his lips as shivers were sent down her spine at his touch. Her lips parted slightly so she could trace his lips with her tongue. His lips opened and she slipped her tongue in. Her ground her hips against him and let out a soft moan against his lips. His fingers lightly grazed her thighs under her dress. She needed him right there on her kicthen floor. She broke their kiss and to kiss his neck as she unbuttoned his pants.

"Mmm Anna..." he said breathlessly, "Anna, you have to... we have to stop. We can't do this"

Anna sat up and moved off of Kristoff, pulling up the straps of her dress that had fallen off her shoulders. Her moment of bliss was over.

"I'm sorry Anna, I...I have to go" he hastily buttoned his pants again and stood up, "Ummm...great party, thanks". He sounded flustered and wasn't making eye contact with her as he left.

She'd made such a mistake and she felt humiliated. How could she have been so foolish to think he'd want her? Her head was fuzzy and she felt like she couldn't move. She just sat there sadly on the kitchen floor.


	8. Chapter 8

Tossing and Turning and having difficulty sleeping was something that often plagued Kristoff even on good days. Once his Uber dropped him off at home that night he didn't even try to head to sleep in his bed. Kristoff flicked on the TV and laid down on the couch hoping that his thoughts could be forgotten if they were drowned out with late night TV. He still felt his heart racing, it had been since Anna started kissing him, but it had been racing in a different way since he'd left her place. Her kisses made his heart race out of arousal and excitment, but the second that he noticed her trying to push things further his racing heart was because of panic. He'd had to get out of there as fast as he could. His mind had been swimming in thoughts and he had to leave before he drowned and brought Anna down with him. Funny how fear and romance could elicit the same physical feelings. That was one of the reasons that Kristoff thought of just avoiding dating altogether, despite all of Sven and his mother's pressure.

Somehow, at some point in the night, Kristoff had fallen asleep. At noon he was woken up by his phone ringing.

"Hello?" he groaned into his phone. His eyes were still closed, he didn't know that it was Sven calling until he heard his cheery voice saying, "Wow, sounds like someone had a long night. Were you up late with Anna?"

"Not up late with Anna. I was up late because of Anna" Kristoff groaned. Of course Sven would be calling to check up how the rest of the night went. Frankly, it seemed like a miracle that he had been able to wait this long to check in.

"Just stop being cryptic and tell me what went on"

The ship had sailed on Kristoff lying about what had happeneed, he'd already confessed to thoughts of Anna keeping him awake. After being best friends with Sven since kindergarten Sven also had a way ofb easily being able to figure out when Kristoff was lying.

"She kissed me and that ended up in us making out on her kitchen floor. She wanted to take it further and..."

"and you guys did it right?"

"God, you're way to invested in my love life. No Sven," Kristodd sighed loudly, "I stopped her."

"Why the hell did you do that? You got the green light"

"Because we were both drunk!" Kristoff yelled and then winced at hearing his own loud voice ring in his head, "I could have been the asshole who she thinks took advantage of her or that she regrets sleeping with." _And she deserves better. _Of course them being drunk wasn't the only reason he'd stopped her, it was just the reason that was a lot easier to talk about.

"What a gentleman you are! So...did you ask her out or schedule a sober rendez-vous?" Sven asked excitedly.

"Well...no. I just told her we should stop and I left." He knew that Sven was going to lay into him for that.

"I hope you don't mean you were just like 'nope' and then peaced out. Like what else did you say?"

"Just that we had to stop and that I had to go and I thanked her for the party and I left" he wiched.

"Are you serious? You didn't even give her your reason, you just left her drunk and confused on her kitchen floor? I take it back, you're not so gentlemanly"

"I panicked, I had to leave" Kristoff whispered. Sven knew all of what some would call Kristoff's quirks; the panic attacks, the difficulty sleeping, the irritability, the recluse behaviour. He was one of the very few people to know that they weren't quirks, but symptoms of a formal diagnosis of PTSD: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

"But why? I told you, she likes you. She was flirting with you all night, she even tried to sleep with you" Sven's tone softened.

"But she doesn't know _me_. I mean she got a taste of it last night, but she doesn't know the me that comes with the PTSD warning sign. She just broke up with her douchebag of an ex-fiance. She doesn't need to be with someone who's unstable like me, someone who could hurt her again. You just pointed out that I've probably already hurt her with what I did last night. I'm either going to hurt her or she's going to run."

"Or she's going to be understanding and supportive and fall madly in love with you. Not every girl is Katherine."

Katherine was Kristoff's last serious girlfriend. It'd been almost a year since they'd broken up, and it'd been about a week longer than that since he'd been first diagnosed with PTSD. Coincidence? It absolutey was not.

"There you go, you two can bond over how horrible your exes are. Look, you obviously care about Anna because you're willing to be sad and lonely to try and save her from being hurt, that's admirable of you. I think you owe it to both of you to at least try" Sven said, "But now that you've decided to finally tell me the whole truth about what's going on with Anna I'll lay off you a bit."

"Thanks buddy. I just need to clear my head right now"

The next morning Anna was feeling absolutely horrible, both emotionally and physically. She pulled her blankets over her eyes and tried to sleep as late as she possibly could, but she needed some ibuprofen and some water and she couldn't manage to sleep any longer. As awful as she felt she knew that she had to get out of the house. She'd just feel worse if she were left to spend her hours at the very scene of her embarrassment. She never wanted to look at her kitchen sink or floor again. She took a shower to wash off the night before, threw her hair up in a ponytail and tossed on the first outfit she found and head out to her bakery.

She gave a little wave to the girls working the front counter and she quickly slipped into the back kitchen where she found Olaf.

"Oh hey, I didn't think you were coming in today. What a nice surpirse" Olaf exclaimed when he saw her. He put down the bread dough that he was kneading to rush over and give her one of his signature warm hugs.

"Surpirse, you never know when I'll pop up" Anna giggled. Whenever she was sad she always tried to put on a brave, happy face when she was around others. She didn't want to bring them down.

"Your party was great by the way, I forget if I already told you that but it deserves to be said again anyway"

"Thanks" Anna replied nonchalantly as she took over kneading the bread. She focused on folding and digging her palms into the bread, sometimes giving it a little punch. It was quite the release of her frustration.

"Uhhh, Anna are you okay?" Olaf asked.

"I'll be okay. I'm just a bit hungover cause, as you probably saw I was a bit tipsy"

"No, I mean because you're kneading that dough pretty hard. Something on your mind? You can tell me. You know I'm good at keeping secrets." Olaf wasn't that good at secrets, not because he wanted to spill, but he'd just get so caught up in talking that he'd speak before thinking.

"Okay, fine. So I already covered that I was tipsy last night..." Anna looked up at Olaf and bit her lip, "Well, while I was tipsy I kissed Kristoff and then I tried to take off his pants." Anna said the last part rapidly, she closed her eyes and winced at the end.

"My goodness Anna! That's so saucy" Olaf gasped, "So what happened? I mean it seems like you didn't succeed with taking off his pants"

"He just said we had to stop and he got up and left. I must have really upset him. Like by being so forward made him not even able to be around me. Why do I always mess things up?" Anna was aggressively punching the bread again.

" Don't take it out on the bread" Olaf grabbed her by the shoulders, "Look at me, you don't always mess things up. You were tipsy, we all do silly things when we're tipsy"

"I know, but I may have ruined things with him. I had a crush and I just wanted us to at least be friends even if he didn't return the feelings. He did kiss me back so I thought he liked me too and I got brave. Now, what if he can't even be friends with me now? " Anna whined.

" He didn't give you a reason though. You don't know that he doesn't really like you. He could have been just being a half gentleman."

"a half gentleman?" Anna gave Olaf a confused look.

"Ya, like he was gentlemanly enough to not take advantage of you, but not quite gentlemanly enough to tell you those thoughts and give a proper ending to the night. If that's not the case and he was leading you on then he can deal with me" Olaf flexed his chubby arm.

"Thanks Olaf. You're right. Maybe hope isn't quite lost " Anna smiled at him

"That's the spirit! Besides, if he decides to not even be your friend then he isn't worth the time and it's his problem. You're the best friend someone could have."

"Awwww, no you're the best friend Olaf"

Despite what Kristoff had told Sven his head was anything but clear as time passed. Even after he was no longer actually hungover he still had a headache. Of course his knee jerk reaction was to just run from Anna and his feelings and try and forget it all. Sven had been convincing though. If he just assumed that she wouldn't give him a chance if she knew about his mental illness then he really wasn't giving her enough credit. Yet another thing he had done that showed he wasn't good enough for her and that he'd just somehow hurt her. He felt no closer to actually deciding what he should do. He decided to go out for a walk, maybe that would clear his head. It was starting to get dark, but he prefered walking in the dark since it was much quieter. He didn't set out with a specific destination. He just kept walking until he started to feel some rain coming down. He was going to turn around to head hom but he noticed that he was stopped outside of a store front with a gigantic pink sign saying 'Sprinkles'. The lights were still on and he could see Anna in there behind the cash. It was a sign. It was time to stop thinking and just act. He fellt his heart starting to race a bit, he took three deep breaths and opened the door.

"Sorry, we're about to close soon. We don't have much inventory left. It's been a busy day" Anna said without looking up.

"I'm not here for the baking" he replied

Anna looked up at him with surprised eyes.

"Can we talk?" he shrugged.

"We can talk" Anna nodded.


End file.
